Thank you for bringing up your concerns about the warranty of our Apex wheelchairs. I can confirm that going off a curb is normal use and a very standard maneuver. It will definitely not void your warranty. There is not a lot of things you can do to void the warranty. The misuse and abuse that we are talking about is for non-standard use (something that would make you say “I’m not sure they should be doing that with their wheelchair”) I think common sense comes into play here. If the chair is dropped out of the back of your truck on the highway doing 60mph and it shatters the chair, this is not warranty. We will always evaluate the warranty request case by case.

I hope this clears your mind about warranty on our products.

If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know.

Take care

Shawn Mullins
Customer Service Representative”

07-11-2019, 04:18 PM

Stsmark

As a friend used to say, “no sense being stupid if you don’t prove it once in awhile”. It’s actually weight training and stretching.

Weight Training and Sporting Activities
This wheelchair was not designed or tested as a weight training or stretching apparatus. Do not attempt to use this wheelchair for weight training or stretching exercises. The warranty shall be void if the wheelchair has been used for any weight training or stretching purposes.
This wheelchair is not intended to be used during sporting activities.

i like my Apex and it has a lot more in favor than against. I’ve only had 2 chairs the Apex and an aluminum Lasher. I think my idea of a stiff chair is biased as the Lasher is tough as nails and stiff as all get out.

07-11-2019, 08:16 PM

Stsmark

Forgot to mention, I have D?s Locks on mine and they work great with the Apex. They require an aluminum camber tube but the weight difference is a few ounces.

07-11-2019, 10:41 PM

SCI_OTR

Most owners manuals say to avoid a lot of things that are part of everyday use.

07-11-2019, 10:58 PM

jgtrev

Really appreciate the feedback here. I’m also impressed with the shared knowledge available.

07-12-2019, 04:36 AM

August West

I wonder how well a CF chair holds up over time compared to a titanium chair? Besides, does Medicare even pay for one? They cost around $3K to start and probably $4K-5K with a lot of options.

07-12-2019, 06:19 AM

jgtrev

Quote:

Originally Posted by August West

I wonder how well a CF chair holds up over time compared to a titanium chair? Besides, does Medicare even pay for one? They cost around $3K to start and probably $4K-5K with a lot of options.

I’m sure that Medicare won’t do CF as it is beyond their price point, and yes, this chair will cost which is why I am doing some exhaustive research. Those who have them speak well of them, but none I have spoken with have had enough time to evaluate how they hold up.

07-12-2019, 08:42 AM

Oddity

Medicare has no guidance on frame material other than they won't pay for it twice (e.g. as a K0108 'upgrade').

They consider material irrelevant and already baked into the base reimbursement amount for the chair's code, and billing it as an additional option is considered "unbundling", which is against the claims processing rules, and also illegal under False Claims law.

If the chair has a HCPCS code of K0005, and is a registered product with Medicare, then it's eligible for reimbursement, regardless of material.

I wonder how well a CF chair holds up over time compared to a titanium chair? Besides, does Medicare even pay for one? They cost around $3K to start and probably $4K-5K with a lot of options.

Search up posts by user Black Alloy (iirc). He is a professional CF fabricator who has built himself a number of CF chairs. His claims are that it holds up as well as metal. He's posted here a bunch in the past about his creations.

P.s. He doesn't sell them, makes them for personal use only, so it's at least not marketing hype from a big company about 'strength and lightweight' without any documented or published proof. (I'm looking at you TiLite;) Show us the destructive testing results, etc.! We want to believe! Help us make the case it's factually better to use certain materials over others!)

07-12-2019, 12:25 PM

Mize

My concern would be impact damage. I'm a materials scientist who has done ample work with graphite-epoxy composites (aka carbon fiber) and it's super amazing for everything but impacts. So my concern would really be air travel where they throw shit around and don't care about much. I just got back from Mexico and a United bag handler forcibly rolled my chair with one brake locked and wore my tire completely through the tread...morons.